Stove Update With Faux Stainless Steel

Help! I Ruined My Stove With Oven Cleaner!

Sometimes good things come from mistakes. Recently this happened to me.

My stove was originally an ugly antique white. It didn't match anything in my kitchen. A couple of years ago I painted it black, which was much better than the original color.

This past year, though, we replaced our dishwasher and refrigerator with stainless steel. I would like to have replaced the stove, but decided I had already spent too much money. It still looked okay in black, so no worries... a new stove could wait.

Then I did some super good cleaning and sprayed not only the oven, but also the cooktop with oven cleaner. Yikes! Painted surfaces and oven cleaner do not mix!

Painted surfaces and oven cleaner do not mix!

Stovetop disaster: Black paint was removed by oven cleaner spray.

Before Oven Cleaner

Painting the Stovetop

Here are the steps I took to transform my stovetop to faux stainless steel:

I removed the rest of the old paint from the stovetop. This was accomplished mainly by scraping and sanding.

Next I cleaned the surface very well and removed all grease and paint flakes.

I painted with an enamel primer. This step helped the paint to adhere.

I allowed the primer to dry the recommended time. Then I lightly sanded and applied a second coat of primer.

The last step for the stovetop was to paint with three coats of a metallic enamel paint. I used an oil based paint. Make sure your paint is okay for appliances (and heat).

This picture shows the stove with the painters tape still in place.

Finishing Touches

My stovetop was the worst part of my stove. However, to coordinate my new stainless steel look, I also painted blocks of faux stainless on the oven and drawer. These are the steps I took to complete my project.

I used painters tape to block off areas on the oven door to paint. I left an area around the oven window black.

I also used painters tape to around the edges of the stove's bottom drawer.

The blocked off areas were painted with two coats of primer, drying between each coat.

Then I painted the blocked off areas with one coat of the same metallic paint that was used on the stovetop. After drying, I carefully removed the painters tape.

My last step was to print out new labels to apply under my stove knobs. I made these in a black script on a stainless steel color background. The labels gave my stove a finished look.

Liquid Stainless Steel Video

Faux Stainless Steel Film

Another option for a faux stainless look is to use a film. This material is available for purchase online. It has been featured on a popular morning show in the past. This product is applied much like peel-and-stick contact paper.